Category: Awareness

People often tell me that they just can’t meditate. They say they simply can’t switch their minds off. But the goal of meditation isn’t to switch off the mind. It’s too hard, especially if you’ve never meditated before. I once heard Eckhart Tolle say that he could stop thinking for 7 minutes. I had to pause and wonder, Is that even possible? I’ve meditated for years and I don’t think I can get to a minute. Of course as soon as meditation becomes a chore, or something where you have to strive for some goal, it kind of defeats the purpose.

Have you ever wondered why we see depression as a “mental” disorder. Depression is felt in the heart—not the head. You don’t go to a psychiatrist because you have a headache. You go because you’re experiencing overwhelming emotion. You might be feeling a deep sense of sadness or heaviness in your heart. Or a constant sense of fear in your gut.

But psychiatry sees all emotional issues as mental disorders. You have to wonder if western psychiatry even knows what it is that they are treating when they’re treating mental disorders.

Every year, at the start of the year, people ask me about my new year’s resolutions. Usually, I mention a few, like running regularly, eating better, etc. But this year I have no resolutions, only a few intentions. Those include: being mindful, starting slow, and staying consistent.

There might be many reasons, but for myself I’ve discovered one main reason: usually I try to escape the present because I’m experiencing too much emotional discomfort. An escape into the fixer (problem solving mental) mode avoids the discomfort in my body.